University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 1997 Palaeoecology of vertebrate assemblages from the Upper Cretaceous Judith River group (campanian) of southeastern Alberta, Canada Peng, Jianghua Peng, J. (1997). Palaeoecology of vertebrate assemblages from the Upper Cretaceous Judith River group (campanian) of southeastern Alberta, Canada (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/17933 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/26786 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Palaeoecology Of Vertebrate Assemblages From The Upper Cretaceous Judith River Group (Campanian) Of Southeastern Alberta, Canada by Jianghua Peng A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CALGARY, ALBERTA DECEMBER, 1997 © Jianghua Peng 1997 The author of this thesis has granted the University of Calgary a non-exclusive license to reproduce and distribute copies of this thesis to users of the University of Calgary Archives. Copyright remains with the author. Theses and dissertations available in the University of Calgary Institutional Repository are solely for the purpose of private study and research. They may not be copied or reproduced, except as permitted by copyright laws, without written authority of the copyright owner. Any commercial use or publication is strictly prohibited. The original Partial Copyright License attesting to these terms and signed by the author of this thesis may be found in the original print version of the thesis, held by the University of Calgary Archives. The thesis approval page signed by the examining committee may also be found in the original print version of the thesis held in the University of Calgary Archives. Please contact the University of Calgary Archives for further information, E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: (403) 220-7271 Website: http://www.ucalgary.ca/archives/ ABSTRACT Vertebrate assemblages from the Upper Cretaceous Judith River Group (the Foremost and Oldman formations) in the Milk River area of southeastern Alberta are systematically documented, based on evidence from 19 microfossil localities and 78 identified taxa. These data suggest the presence of at least one previously unidentified taxon, one extinction event, and one immigration event. Testing for repeatability of sampling is discussed in the context of ensuring representative samples. The maximum likelihood method is introduced for testing the taxonomic representativeness. Sedimentological examination of the 19 microsites indicates that 17 are associated with one of two sedimentary facies -inchannel and crevasse splay; similar to the situation in Dinosaur Provincial Park (DPP). A third facies association, shoreface, is recognized for two Foremost sites. The microsites are grouped, using multivariate cluster analysis, on the basis of their taxonomic composition and relative abundance of taxa. Three assemblages are identified. These assemblages are highly congruent with their stratigraphic location, but not with their size profiles or facies associations. Characteristic taxa are summarized for each assemblage, based on the distributional patterns. The upper Foremost assemblage is characterized by 10 taxa restricted to the corresponding unit, with two more occurring in relatively iii high levels of abundance. The upper Oldman assemblage is distinguishable by two taxa restricted to this unit, with three taxa occurring in relatively high levels of abundance. The lower Oldman represents a hybrid assemblage. Local depositional environmental changes are interpreted as the main contributory factors controlling these distributional patterns of vertebrate assemblages. Based on these distribution patterns, the members of two (inland and coastal) palaeocommunities are identified. The community members generally accord with those previously recognized in DPP, although palaeogeographical differences are evident in patterns of turtle distribution. IV This dissertation is dedicated to my wife, parents and family for their love and support. V Acknowledgments I would like to thank all the members of my supervisory, candidacy and dissertation examination committees: Drs. A. P. Russell, D. B. Brinkman, F. R. McCauley, D. A. Eberth, N. Waters, H. Rosenberg, G. Prichard and D. A. Russell for their time, help and advice. I am especially indebted to my supervisor, Dr. A. P. Russell, for his encouragement and thoughtful supervision though all the phrases of my program, and also for his tutelage and patience in helping me improve my written English skills. I owe tremendous gratitude to Dr. D. B. Brinkman, who first introduced me to microsite study, and provided timely guidance during the course of my work. His help and friendship over the years are also very much appreciated. I am sincerely grateful to Dr. D. A. Eberth for his patience and time in explaining the geology and sedimentology of Cretaceous Alberta, and for allowing me to use his unpublished field notes in my dissertation. Hearty thanks to Mr. Larry Powell for stimulating discussion and advice specially on the statistical applications, and also for reading part of my dissertation. I thank Dr. Larry Linton for his suggestions on some aspects of the statistical analysis. Thanks also to Dr. Richard C. Fox, who provided the identification of fossil mammals, Dr. Xiao-chun Wu, who shared his knowledge of crocodylids with me, Mr. Jim Gardner, who helped in identifying albanerpetontids, and Mr. Neil Beavan, who assisted in identifying some chondrithchtyans. Field support was provided by Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (RTMP). I am grateful to Dr. D. B. Brinkman, who organized all the field work. Special thanks also to the following individuals: Jim MacCabe, Hanlora Peterson, Ryan Lee, for their assistance and hardwork during the field seasons. I am especially thankful to Mr. Cecil Nesmos, who generously allowed us to camp on his private farmland and to access fossil localities during the field work. VI Help and time from Drs. D. A. Eberth and D. B. Brinkman on the final field trip are very much appreciated. I would like to thank Mr. Warren Fitch for his assistance in accessing specimens at the Museum of Zoology in the Department, and also for all the help during my laboratory-teaching with him. My officemate Lisa McGregor graciously read most of my dissertation that led to the improvement of my writing. Her advice in coordinating my clothes and styling my hair on my defence day was also appreciated. Thanks also to all the graduate student members of the Comparative Morphology and Palaeontology Research Group: Olaf Bininda-Emonds, David Rittenhouse, Sara Edwards, Sheri Watson, Janice James, Mindy Myers, Lisa McGregor, Dean Hall, Sean Modesto (PDF), Matt Vickaryous, Michael Ryan, Eric Snively, and Kathy Warenchuk. I also thank Dr. Besty Nicholls, who generously provided me numerous rides to and from the RTMP, and Donna Sloan, who provided photographic assistance. Financial support during my program came from RTMP; from the Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Calgary, in the form of graduate teaching and research assistantships; from the University of Calgary Travel Grant; and from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Grant to Dr. A. P. Russell. Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL PAGE ii ABSTRACT iii DEDICATION v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS viii LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF PLATES xiv Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 General Background 1 1.2 Historic Overview of Vertebrate Microsite Studies 3 1.3 Objectives of This Study 7 Chapter 2 Geological Background 10 2.1 Palaeogeography of the Upper Cretaceous Alberta Foreland Basin ...10 2.2 Stratigraphical Setting of the Upper Cretaceous Alberta Foreland Basin 13 2.3 Sedimentologic and Taphonomic Framework of the Vertebrate Microsites from the Judith River Group of Southern Alberta 19 Chapter 3 Material and Methods 23 3.1 Location of Vertebrate Microfossil Sites 23 3.2 Material Recovery Methods 28 3.3 Sorting and Curating Vertebrate Microfossils 32 Vlll 3.4 Quantitative Methods for Estimating Abundance of Taxa 33 Chapter 4 Systematic Palaeontology 37 Chapter 5 Sampling and the Representativeness of Samples 167 5.1 Sampling: Test of Repeatability 168 5.2 Testing of Taxonomic Completeness of Samples 175 5.3 Estimating the Minimal Volume of Sediments for a Representative Sample 187 Chapter 6 Sedimentologic and Taphonomic Examination of the Vertebrate Microfossil Sites Sampled in This Study 191 6.1 Sedimentology and Taphonomy of Vertebrate Microfossil Sites Sampled 192 Chapter 7 Possible Palaeoecological Interpretations of the Vertebrate Microfossil Assemblages 199 7.1 Comparison of Vertebrate Microfossil Assemblages 199 7.2 Potential Taphonomic Biases: Size-Sorting of Vertebrate Microfossils 206 7.3 Potential Sedimentary Facies Associations 218 7.4 Potential Modifications of Taxonomic Compositions through Speciation, Extinction and Immigration 222 7.5 Possible Influence of Regional Depositional